Charles Sobhraj has spent 19 years in a high-security Nepalese prison for the 1975 murder of American backpacker Connie Jo Bronzich and her Canadian friend, Laurent Carriere.
However, the suspicions against him extend far beyond these two murders.
PRISON: In this prison in Kathmandu 19 out of 20 years before he was released on Christmas Eve Photo: Reuters
Many believe he is behind the murders of more than 20 Western backpackers along the popular travel routes in Asia in the 70s. Several documentary series have also been made about the brutal serial killer.
“The Bikini Killer”
In Thailand, Sobhraj is known as the “bikini killer”. Thai police claim he is behind the murders of six bikini-clad women who were found dead on beaches in the popular tourist destination of Pattaya.
He is said to have felt strong contempt for the backpackers, whom he considered poor and drug addicts. He often tricked them into thinking they were friends before drugging and burning them.
THE ARREST: The murder cases in Asia received worldwide attention. Photo: AFP
– He was called the bikini killer because he went up to girls in bikinis, poured petrol over them and set them alight. Then he took their belongings and traveled on to the next country, retired Indian chief investigator in Mumbai Madhukar Zende told AFP.
Zende was among the police officers who knew the case best, and was central to the arrest.
Sobhraj was also called the “snake” because he managed to elude the police for a long time.
Walked into a trap
The “Bikini Killer” was arrested in India in 1976 after poisoning a group of French tourists in New Delhi. Sobhraj spent 21 years in prison there, with the exception of a brief period in 1986 when he drugged prison guards and escaped.
– We got a tip that he was going to Goa, so we set a trap and caught him again, says Zende. He has no doubts about the man’s guilt.
EXTRADITED: Indian prosecutors were unable to build a case against Charles Sobhraj, and for lack of a country to extradite him to, he was deported to France in 1997. Here we see him in custody in New Delhi on February 17, 1997. Photo: DOUGLAS E. CURRAN
Sobhraj was deported to France in 1997, and lived in freedom there until he traveled to Nepal in 2003.
There he was recognized by a journalist at a casino in Kathmandu. He was arrested and imprisoned.
Let loose little Christmas Eve
After almost two decades in a Nepalese prison, he was released on Christmas Eve. The reason for his release was his health, according to Reuters.
That same day, Sobhraj got on the plane to France. There he commented on the case for the first time.
– I am innocent. I was convicted on false evidence, says Sobhraj to AFP.
– I have a lot to do. I have to sue a lot of people, he says.
He describes the conditions in the Nepalese prison as bad, and he has contested the sentence against him several times.
POOR HEALTH: In 2017, Sobhraj had to undergo heart surgery. The release is in line with Nepal’s legislation that bedridden prisoners who have already served three quarters of their sentence can be released. Photo: ATISH PATEL
Sobhraj himself is said to have admitted to having killed several Western tourists, but there is said to have been no technical evidence against him. He has been convicted on the basis of a number of circumstantial evidence.
The murders he is suspected of are said to have been committed in Afghanistan, India, Thailand, Turkey, Nepal, Iran and Hong Kong.
– The case was faked
Shortly after arriving in Paris on Christmas Eve, he was escorted off the plane by police to confirm his identity before being met by his defense attorney, Isabelle Coutant-Peyre.
DEFENDER: Isabelle Coutant-Peyre met her client at the Paris airport on Christmas Eve. Photo: Stephane de Saktuin/AFP
– He is fine. He is free, she says.
She also claims that Sobhraj has been innocently convicted, and warns of legal action to clear his name.
– He is going to sue Nepal, because the whole case against him was fabricated, she says.
Sobhraj has previously been described as a swindler, seducer, robber and murderer.
The French Ministry of the Interior has not commented on whether Sonhraj risks prosecution for minor matters in France. The statute of limitations for criminal offenses in France is 20 years.
